Former Pittsburgh Penguins forward Konstantin Koltsov signed a new contract with Super League (Russia 1) club HC Salavat Yulayev from Ufa, Russia. The young forward started the preseason with another Russian club, HC Ak Bars, but after being unable to come to terms with the team, he accepted an enticing offer from Ufa. The club appears to have received instant dividends, as Koltsov has played very strongly at the preseason Lada club, including a two goal performance against his former HC Ak Bars.

Timofei Shishkanov (St. Louis Blues) may return to Russia for a season to play for HC Khimik out of Vosskresensk. The club offered him an offer with significant financial incentives and considering the Blues unwillingness at this point to offer him a one way deal, Shishaknov may return to Russia for a season. The prospect does not come without risk, as he may not enjoy any success in Russia and diminish his NHL stock even further, as did Alexander Buturlin after declining a Montreal offer over money and retunring to Russia to play.

Evgeny Artukhin (Tampa Bay Lightning) has signed a one year contract with Russian club HC Lokomotiv, which is located in the city Yaroslavl. The young forward spent most of the 2005-06 season with the Tampa Bay Lightning in the NHL and has enjoyed a strong performance in a supporting cast role. This was the last year of Artukhin’s three year rookie deal with Tampa Bay and the young forward likely continues to be in negotiations with the Lightning.

Pavel Vorobiev (Chicago Blackhawks) signed a contract with Russian Super League club HC Khimik (Vosskresensk) in what is likely to be an back up option to his return to the NHL. The young forward made his first full-fledged NHL debut last year and while his season was uneven, he delivered a strong performance, especially early, in the NHL. Late in the season, when it became clear that the Blackhawks club was not making the playoffs, Vorobiev was sent down to the AHL in what was partially a money saving effort due to his two way contact and finished the season with the Norfolk Admirals. Vorobiev remains Chicago Blackhawks property.

Vadim Khomitsky discusses the prospects of him signing a deal with the Dallas Stars. He also touches upon the situation that surrounded his departure from HC CSKA, as well as his current contracting standing with Super League's HC Khimik. READ MORE

Vadim Khomitsky continues to be on track to join the Dallas Stars for the 2006-07 season. The 82 born defenseman is reportedly in contract negotiations with the NHL club. The negotiations have been confirmed by Leonid Weisfield, the general director of his Russian club HC Khimik, in an interview with Soviet Sport newspaper correspondent Dmitri Ponamorenko. He further confirmed that the young defenseman’s contract will likely have a clause that will allow him to return to Russia if he does not make the NHL club’s roster.

Arseny Bondarev (New Jersey Devils) signed a tryout deal with new member of the Super League (Russia 1), the Soviet Wings. The young forward has spent the past several seasons in the High League (Russia 2) for HC Amur, after being released by HC Lokomotiv during the summer of 2004. The young forward had a career season during 2005-06, recording 20 points (10 goals and 10 assists) in 40 games, establishing himself as the fourth best sniper on the team. Financially troubled, the Soviet Wings will likely retain Bondarev for the 2006-07 season and the young sniper will likely make his Super League debut during in September.

Colorado Avalanche netminder Vitaly Kolesnik signed a three year deal with Moscow area club HC Khimik. The young netminder joined the Colorado organization last summer after a spectacular performance with the Kazakhstan national team. He skated in eight games for Colorado, spending the rest of his time in the AHL, playing for Colorado’s farm club, the Lowell Lock Monsters. At this point it is unclear whether the deal includes an NHL out clause, but at this point Kolesnik remains an Avalanche restricted free agent.

Nikolai Lemtyugov (St. Louis Blues) has been traded to HC Severstal for Los Angeles Kings defensive prospect Andrei Shefer. The 20 year old forward had a career season with HC CSKA, where he created a versatile combination with recently drafted Vancouver Canucks prospect Sergei Shirokov. HC Severstal is in a rebuilding mode with the departure of several of the team’s key players, including Shefer and Igor Grigorenko (Detroit Red Wings), and Lemtyugov’s acquisition is a move by the club to create a younger, more versatile, and like just as importantly, cheaper lineup.

After being waived by Avangard in an effort for the club to slash it’s budget, Mozyakin (Columbus Blue Jackets) has landed near Moscow in Mytische, where he will skate for HC Khimik. The young forward is one of 16 new players to join the club in a major effort to revamp the lineup under new management and effectively compete for medals during the upcoming season. Mozyakin has consistently been one of the top forwards in the Super League (Russia 1) during the past three seasons, even getting the World Championships nod this past spring.

Alexander Svitov signed a 1 year deal and will skate for the Columbus Blue Jackets during the upcoming 2006-07 season. The young former #3 selection in the 2001 NHL Entry Draft has spent the past season with his former Russian club Avangard (Omsk). There, he was one of the club’s top six forwards, though he did not establish himself as a preeminent force in the Super League. Svitov has stated in the past that he returned to Russia for the season due to family reasons, as his wife was with child.

Denis Kulyash (Nashville Predators) announced that he will remain with Dynamo for the 2006-07 season after signing a one year contract with the club that includes a potential one year player option for the 2007-08 campaign. There was some speculation that Kulyash would sign a deal with Nashville, which may still occur with a new transfer agreement in place between Russia and the NHL, but the young hard shooting defenseman remains raw and at least another season in Russia would be desirable for him to continue to develop.

Dmitri Kazionov (Tampa Bay Lightning) has signed a new deal with Ak Bars (Kazan). The 84 born center split the 2005-06 campaign between Lada and Dynamo, moving on to the latter club after Lada experienced financial problems early in the season. The top Russian center born in 84, Kazionov has consistently played at a high level, but thus far failed to establish himself as a top two center on a team.

Grigori Misharin (Minnesota Wild) will return to HC Dynamo after a highly successful season with another Super League club HC CSKA. The young defenseman logged significant ice time last season and was even a member of Russia’s senior national team at the World Championships in Riga, Latvia. Dynamo has experienced some financial issues late last season, but has found the money to compensate all the players and resign a number of veterans to remain with the club, as well as bringing back players like Misharin.

The Togliatti based Lada club locked down it’s most promising defensemen Dmitri Vorobiev (Toronto Maple Leafs) and Alexei Emelin (Montreal Canadiens) for the coming 2006-07 season by tripling their salaries. In an interview with the Soviet Sport, the team’s president had the following to say regarding the signings:

Igor Grigorenko (Detroit Red Wings) future in Russia continues to be clouded as the young forward is bent on returning to his home club of Lada, but still has a year left on his contract with another Super League club, Severstal (Cherpovets). His move to Lada is likely assured, but the arbitration court will have to determine what the Togliatti club will owe Severstal for the transfer. The situation will likely remain in flux for at least another month, until the arbitration court convenes.

Vyacheslav Buravchikov (Buffalo Sabres) has signed a new contract with Ak Bars (Kazan), ending his one year stay with Khimik (Vosskresensk). The young 87 born defenseman was one of Russia’s brightest young stars last season and will likely continue to get significant minutes next season, as the club’s head coach Zinetulla Belyaletdinov tends to prefer younger players.

Denis Kulyash (Nashville Predators) and his agent Sergei Peremuzov continue to weight available options and the young defenseman is yet to sign with a contract. However it is clear that prospect will not skate for Ak Bars, despite previous reports to that fact. According the player’s agent Dynamo (Moscow) is still in the mix, but a lot will depend on whether the club will be able to fully pay the player for the 2005-06 season, which it has thus far failed to do and what caused the last year of Kulyash’s two year deal to be annulled.

Reports indicating that Evgeny Malkin (Pittsburgh Penguins) signed with the NHL club appear to be premature as this was denied by the player’s representation and the club management. However, the two sides continue to negotiate and will likely come to an agreement shortly.

Nikolai Zherdev (Columbus Blue Jackets) signed an insurance deal with Khimik of the Russian Super League. The young forward's contract with the Blue Jackets has concluded and his agent is currently negotiating a new deal with the NHL club. Khimik was not a surprising destination, as Zherdev is the client of Mr.Tyzhnykh, who has many clients under employment with this particular Super League club.

Soon after the NHL and the Russian Super League reached an agreement, the Pittsburgh Penguins signed their most prized possession to a three year entry level contract. Evgeny Malkin will skate for Pittsburgh during the 2006-07 season.

Sergei Mozyakin (Columbus Blue Jackets) one of the top Super League scorers was released by Avangard due to the clubs effort to reduce payroll and make the newly established salary cap. The young talented forward was one of the loudest transfers of the 2006 summer and there were a number of other clubs interested in his services.

Enver Lisin signed a three year entry level contract with the Phoenix Coyotes. The young forward has spent the last two seasons skating for Ak Bars (Kazan) in the Russian Super League, establishing himself as one of the league’s top young talents. The quick forward was drafted by Phoenix in the second round of the 2004 NHL Entry Draft, which in a lot of ways was a steal of a pick when considering his projection of being a sure first round selection. Now, the main remaining road block between Lisin and Phoenix is the lack of an agreement between the NHL and the Russian hockey governing body, meaning that the NHL club will have to negotiate the player’s transfer directly with Ak Bars.

Vladimir Gusev (Chicago Blackhawks) will return home next season after spending the past three seasons in the North American minors, primarily in the ECHL. The young defender was highly touted before the 2001 NHL Entry Draft, but was selected by Chicago only in the fourth round, 115th overall. He arrived in North America two seasons after the draft, but unfortunately his first season was his most successful, as he was unable to make much of a name at the AHL level since the 2003-04 season. In Russia, Vladimir Gusev signed a deal with Lokomotiv (Yaroslavl), a club well know for successfully bringing back Russians from the North American minor leagues, with the recent successes including Alexander Ryazantsev (Washington Capitals) and Petr Schastlivy (Anaheim Mighty Ducks)

Mikhail Tulyapkin (Minnesota Wild) signed a new deal not with Lokomotiv as was previously reported, but with this season’s Super League champs Ak Bars. Last season the young player was considered one of the top defenders with Metallurg (Novokuznetsk).

Ruslan Zainullin (Calgary Flames) signed a deal with Lada (Togliatti) and will likely remain in the Super League next season. The young prospect spent the past couple of seasons with Dynamo (Moscow), and has also skated for Spartak and Ak Bars, with the latter being his home team and hockey school. The young prospect is probably one of the most traded

Andrei Shefer (Los Angeles Kings) has become one of the newest member of Moscow’s CSKA Red Army club. The 81 born center turned defenseman leaves Severstal in Cherepovets after a four year stay with the club. Interestingly, the young player started his career as a forward, skating as such for the Halifax Mooseheads during the 99-00 season after being selected by the Kings in the second round of the 1999 NHL Entry Draft. However, upon his return to Russia he first skated defense when his club SKA did not have enough blue liners and then was converted to this role by the coaching staff. The Los Angeles Kings likely have another year to sign the 25 year old defenseman, as there is currently no agreement between the NHL and the Russian hockey governing body, making Russia players exempt from the NHLPA restrictions on European players until an agreement is reached.

Saskatoon Blades star goaltender Anton Khudobin (Minnesota Wild) is returning to Russia for the 2005-06 season. He will play backup to Metallurg’s starting netminder Travis Scott, who signed a two year agreement during the summer of 2005. The back up spot is all but secured for Khudobin after the club parted ways with it’s former backup and Team Ukraine starting goalie Konstantin Simchuk. The young netminder spent the 2005-06 campaign in the Canadian junior leagues and after an uneven start became one of the club’s top players down the stretch. His move back Russia does not come as a surprise, since his move to North America was regarded by some as a maneuver by the Super League club Metallurg to attaint it’s young star goaltender of the future a venue to receive effective coaching and a lot of playing time. He received both in Saskatoon, which is more than he could have done in Russia as a third string goalie with Metallurg. Additionally, his stint in the WHL also helped prepare Khudobin for his last U20 WJC tournament, though the young netminder did not deliver a solid performance in Vancouver, his play did significantly improve afterwards for Saskatoon. It is currently unclear whether Khudobin will return to North America to attend Minnesota Wild’s training camp.

Former Chicago Blackhawks forward Igor Radulov today signed with Russian Super League club Metallurg (Novokuznetsk). The 23 year old forward spent several seasons skating in Chicago’s system, including a handful of games at the NHL level. However, the young prospect was never able to fulfill expectations and bolted for Russia early last season, spending the 2005-06 campaign with Moscow club Spartak. In 45 games with Spartak, Radulov scored four goals and added six more assists. Igor Radulov is the older brother of Nashville’s 2004 first round selection and top prospect Alexander Radulov.

Vasily Koshechkin (Tampa Bay) has signed a new contract with Super League club Khimik. The move largely nullifies the previous rumors regarding Colorado’s Vitaly Kolesnik being Khimik bound, as Koshechkin is slated to be the club’s starter after a stellar 2005-06 season with Lada. The move makes complete sense for both parties, as Koshechkin returns to the club president and head coach who have raised him and is accompanied by a significant number of Lada’s impact players in the move from Togliatti to the Moscow region. The 2 meter giant delivered a career performance last season and even merited his first ever invitation to Russia’s national team prior to the World Championships. Recently signed St. Louis Blues prospect Konstantin Barulin will likely be competing with Koshechkin for the starting job but considering the club’s management and coaching staff largely coming from Togliatti, the starting job is Koshechkin’s to lose.

Konstantin Barulin (St. Louis Blues) has signed a what is likely a one year contract with Super League club Khimik from Vosskresensk. Khimik has been in need of goaltending depth, as the club chose not to resign the former starter Dushan Saflitsky, backup Yegorov, and currently has both of the goaltending positions up for grabs. The young netminder has split goaltending duties for Spartak this season with Tyler Moss in net for Moscow’s Super League club Spartak. It is unclear whether the contract features a NHL

Despite the past rumors that Detroit Red Wings talented prospect Igor Grigorenko was going to stay in Russia and sign a new deal with wealthy Super League (Russia 1) club Avangard (Omsk), it appears that while the transfer is a possibility, it has not yet happened. The young forward has another year left on his two year deal with Severstal (Cherpovets) and is not allowed to sign another contract until a reasonable transfer compensation is reached by the new club with Severstal.

The transfer does still appear to be possible, as this would not be the first time Avangard has aggressively gone after a player under contract with another Super League club. Cases in the past included Artem Chernov (at the time one of the brightest young stars and a member of Novokuznetsk’s Metallurg) and Vadim Tarasov (a two time Russian goalie of the year during the 2000-2002 span). Interestingly, another possible destination for the young forward is back home to Togliatti, where he is reportedly being courted by Lada’s management with a wealthy one year offer. Grigorenko returned to full form, recording 35 points (14G+21A) during the 2005-06 season after spending several seasons recovering from serious injuries suffered during a car crash.

Russia beat out Slovakia to secure a top spot in Group C at the 2006 World Championships. The game was won with a one timer mid throuhg the third period when Alexei Mikhnov (Edmonton Oilers) redirected Alexander Semin's (Washington Capitals) one timer.

St. Louis Blues prospect Dmitri Semin has moved on from Spartak (Moscow) to another Super League club, Lokomotiv (Yaroslavl). The young forward has thus far spent his entire career with the Moscow based club, but the club’s financial instability, combined with the increased interest garnered by the young forward due to his latest successful season, were the likely drivers behind his departure. In addition to signing with a new club in the Super League, Semin may still sign a deal with the St. Louis Blues, whose management has repeatedly voiced interest in the young prospect and will have to sign him by June 1st to retain his rights.

Mikhail Tulyapkin (Minnesota Wild) reportedly signed a deal with Lokomotiv (Yaroslavl) after his two year contract with Metallurg (Novokuznetsk) concluded. During that time Metallurg underwent significant changes, including the departure of the head coach and over half of the club’s lineup to St. Petersburg. Tulyapkin delivered a solid season with Novokuznetsk and enjoyed top defensive pairing duties after the re-organization of the club during the 2005-06 season. If does join Lokomotiv and is not signed by Minnesota this summer, he will likely skate on Lokomotiv’s third defensive pairing.

According to various sources, including Maxim Sushinsky, the talented forward will likely make his return to the NHL. At this point the forward has claimed he will likely skate for the club he has played for before, which is the Minnesota Wild. However, other resources have indicated that Sushinsky is also garnering the interest of the New York Rangers, the same club that currently employs former 2004-05 Sushinsky linemate and NHL super star Jaromir Jagr. In Russia, if the NHL move does not work out, St. Petersburg’s SKA and Omsk’s Avangard appear to be the two front runners for his services. Sushinsky’s current club Dynamo has fallen into serious financial troubles and while Sushinsky did sign a 2 year deal, he can easily void it due to not being paid for more than five months. He has skated for both aforementioned Russian clubs, getting his start in St. Petersburg before moving on to Omsk. While Omsk can likely offer Sushinsky more money, the forward would likely choose St. Petersburg if the money is at all comparable, since the club is located in his home town. None of this, however, will matter come July, as Sushinsky will likely sign with a club in the NHL.

Metallurg’s (Magnitogorsk) management announced today’s decision not to offer Yuri Dobryshkin an extension for the 2006-07 season. The young forward was one of the Super League’s top point producers during his time with another Super league club Severstal (Cherpovets). He was relegated from the top line to the supporting cast with Metallurg and while his last season was not bad with 12 goals, the young forward did not quite fit the Magnitogorsk club’s hockey system.

Pavel Rosa’s (Los Angeles Kings) agent announced the sniper’s return to Russia after his sudden departure to Sweden during the 2005-06 season due to non-payment from his Dynamo club, which continues to owe it’s players many months of salary back pay. Now, Rosa has moved to a more financially stable club and 2004 Super League champions Avangard. Rosa’s contract with Avangard is for one season.

Sergei Mozyakin (Columbus Blue Jackets) is reportedly on the move to another Super League club - Avangard, agreeing in principal to a deal with the wealthy club. A long time Super League top echelon forward, in addition to fully recovering from a leg injury and succeeding on the score sheet during the 2005-06 season, Mozyakin also captained CSKA, leading the club into the playoffs. It is unclear whether Mozyakin’s deal would be nullified by a NHL contract, which the talented forward may sign this summer, as this is his last year of eligibility for a deal with the Blue Jackets before he becomes a NHL free agent.

Rumor Central: Mikhail Tulyapkin (Minnesota Wild) is being courted by Super League (Russia 1) club Lokomotiv. The young 84 born defenseman is the product of the Torpedo (Nizhni Novgorod) hockey system and has spent the past several seasons with Metallurg (Novokuznetsk). He has developed into one of the top 15-20 young blue liners in Russia, earning a start for Russia’s U20 national team at the 2004 U20 World Junior Championships and now garnering interest from other Super League clubs. The young defenseman is a free agent this summer with his Metallurg deal now completed.

Former Minnesota Wild forward Maxim Sushinsky disusses his transfer to Dynamo from Avangard, Dynamo’s financial difficulties, and his NHL future in an interview with Sport-Express newspaper correspondent Pavel Stryzhevsky. READ MORE

Despite the penalties and no longer having the home advantage, Ak Bars clinched the Super League championship with a convincing victory, shutting out Avangard in just three games. The Morozov - Zinovjev READ MORE

Ak Bars has Avangard against the wall after a close victory where former NHL goaltender Fred Breathwaite delivered his best game of the playoffs, recording a shutout and assisting on Kazan’s clinching goal when his rebound sailed to Alexander Stepanov. READ MORE

According to team vice president Valery Vasiliev, forward Vladimir Gorbunov (New York Islanders) extended his contract with HC MVD for another season. The young 82 born forward joined the club two seasons ago after spending his entire career with CSKA (Moscow). Known for his hard nosed, aggressive play, Gorbunov has become one of the Super League’s PIM leaders with 146 minutes in just 44 games.

Artem Chubarov (Vancouver Canucks) injured his knee during the first finals game between his Avangard and Ak Bars. The former Vancouver Canuck skated gingerly off the ice gingerly after a collision and did not return. The coach informed the media that the injury was his knee, but did not elaborate on the seriousness injury, not ruling out Chubarov’s return for the second game on Friday.

Enver Lisin (Phoenix Coyotes) put Kazan ahead 2:1 in the first minutes of the second period with a great wrist shot, catching Norm Maracle by surprise from behind an Avangard defenseman. Atlanta Thrashers defensive prospect Ilya Nikulin broke Avangard’s back with Kazan’s third goal. With an Avangard player on him, Nikulin skated into a lane and put a slap shot right on target. Curiously this was Ilya Nikulin’s third goal in as many playoff games (!), with the last two coming in the latter two contests of the semifinals.
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Dmitri Pestunov (Phoenix Coyotes) suffered an injury during the quarterfinals match up against Lada. The young forward was hit and landed acquardly on the ice, breaking his collar bone. The injury is not serious and will heal completely, but it did keep him out of the lineup for most of the Lada and the Avangard quarterfinals and semifinals series. Pestunov has enjoyed a strong season after an average sophomore 2004-05 campaign, when he struggled to produce and break through Metallurg’s depth at center and was eventually loaned to Spartak (Moscow) prior to the playoffs. This season he centered the club’s third line, getting significant ice time and enjoying a lot of success point wise (22 points (6G+16A) in 52 games), but also more importantly in the level of responsibility and his performance at both ends of the ice.

Avangard today eliminated the heavy favorite Metallurg from the Super League playoffs, winning the second overtime contest in a row 3:2. Former Dallas Stars and Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Sergei Gusev scored the game winning goal eight minutes into the extra frame. Avangard almost won the game during regular time, if not for Denis Platonov’s (Nashville Predators) equalizer with less than 3 minutes left in the game.

Avangard’s head coach Belousov confirmed that Mikhail Lyubushin (Los Angeles Kings) suffered an undetermined injury that will sideline him for the remainder of the playoffs. The young defenseman started the 2005-06 season with Severstal, but transferred to Avangard during the first half of the season. Since his role diminished on the deeper Avangard squad, Lyubushin’s perofmance improved and he fit in well with his new club. He was injured during the quarterfinals when Avangard beat out CSKA.

Kiril Koltsov (Vancouver Canucks) enjoyed his best game of the season, scoring Avangard’s first goal and his 12th of the season by being in the right place to collect the puck from a Metallurg defenseman and sending a precise shot through the five hole. Metallurg came back roaring with two goals, but allowed Avangard to come back with a minute left in the game and then former Los Angeles Kings and Nashville Predators forward Vitaly Yachmenev won it for Avangard just over a minute into the playoffs. READ MORE

Article by Ruslan Salikhov regarding the Alexei Emelin (Montreal Canadiens) incident that occcurred during the Super League playoffs in the second match between Metallurg and Lada. The article is published courtesy of the Russian Hockey Digest. READ MORE

St. Louis defensive prospect Nikita Nikitin (St.Louis Blues) scored the game winning overtime
goal after his shot hits the boards behind the net, then lands on sprawled out Travis Scott, and then finally rolls into the net. Artem Chubarov (Vancouver Canucks) one timed Avangard’s first goal into Metallurg’s net. Both Canadian goalies Travis Scott and Norm Maracle played very strong games.
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A short interview of Andrei Taratukhin (Calgary Flames) after his Lokomotiv's victory against Khimik (Vosskresensk) in the Super League (Russia 1) quarterfinals. The interview was conducted by the Soviet Sport correspondent Dmitri Ponamorenko READ MORE

The Magnitogorsk district attorney announced yesterday that the state was not planning to initiate a case against Lada defenseman Alexei Emelin (Montreal Canadiens). In an interview with Soviet Sport correspondent Kiril Belyakov, he stated the following:

The quarterfinals episode Emelin did violate the rules, but fortunately, Varlamov’s injury was not life threatening. So, there is no cause for a criminal investigation. Additionally, the recovering Varlamov has publicly forgiven Emelin.

Metallurg’s vice president Pavel Krashinnikov, who initated the request for a criminal investigation had the following to say to Soviet Sport:

I spoke on Sunday with Varlamov and after our conversation I called on the district attorney and withdrew the request. There is no need for all this attention and panic. Many people called me and asked me not to put pressure on this situation. Evgeny is already home and is feeling better. He asked that Emelin be left along and the career of the young defenseman would not be ruined by this. Especially, considering that he apologized, and Varlamov will not experience any long term effects because of the injury. Evgeny told me that this could have happened with any player.

Metallurg finally eliminates Lada in four games after surprisingly dropping the first game of the best of five series. Khimik drops out of the playoffs when Lokomotiv’s defenseman Ilya Gorokhov sends a slap shot sailing past Dushan Saflicky with just over 30 seconds left in overtime. READ MORE

Montreal Canadiens defensive prospect Alexei Emelin discusses the unfortunate incident that left Metallurg defenseman and captain Evgeny Varlamov with a concussion during the second game between Metallurg and Emelin’s Lada. The interview was conducted by Sport Express newspaper correspondent Yuri Golishak. READ MORE

Alexei Emelin (Montreal Canadiens) has been suspended for five games by the Super League’s disciplinary committee. Since Lada was bounced out of the playoffs by Metallurg just two games after the incident, Alexei will miss three more games at the start of the 2006-07 season. Additionally, the local Magnitogorsk criminal courts chose not to pursue a criminal case against Emelin that was put forth by the Metallurg club’s management.

Additional details surfaced regarding the now infamous hit. Apparently, another Magnitogorsk player, Eduard Kudermetov, hit Emelin just before the altercation with Varlamov, likely prompting the rash reaction from the young Montreal Canadiens prospect. As far as the victim of the incident, Evgeny Varlamov, he continues to improve and recover from the concussion suffered during the altercation.

Metallurg crushes Lada 7:0 with NHL veteran Dmitri Yushkevich earning a hattrick, while Evgeny Malkin (Pittsburgh Penguins) scored a double and assisted on two more goals. Avangard blew out CSKA for the second game in a row, with only Alexander Nikulin (Ottawa Senators) getting on the board for CSKA. READ MORE

Defenseman Evgeny Varlamov regained consciousness and after further analysis received some good news that he did not suffer any neck injuries, but did suffer a serious concussion. He is knocked out for the remainder of the Super League playoffs. The incident’s offender Alexei Emelin (Montreal Canadiens) is likely knocked out for the remainder playoffs as well, as he has been suspended indefinitely by the league’s ruling body until further investigation of the incident. Upon initial review of the game’s tape, the league upheld the 25 minute match penalty assessed to the young defenseman during the game.

Buffalo Sabres prospect Denis Denisov has been sidelined by a unspecified leg injury. The young defenseman has skated in the first two playoff games for Ak Bars in the round of 16 match up against HC MVD (Tver). Denisov’s season has not been injury free, as he was sidelined for most February with another injury before making his return to Kazan’s lineup in early March and skating in the final three games of the regular season. Additionally, towards the end of the summer Denisov broke his arm and missed the first three weeks of the regular season before making a full return to Kazan’s lineup. None of the injuries appear to be related and it seems to simply be an unfortunate series of events for the talented blue liner, as he has enjoyed an injury free career prior to thhe 2005-06 season. He is considered day to day by Kazan’s medical staff.

Andrei Zubarev (Atlanta Thrashers) has been sidelined for more than a month and during the playoffs due to a groin injury. He has not skated for Ak Bars since early February and will likely be out for at least the quarterfinals round of the Super League playoffs. Prior to the injury, Zubarev was a regular top four blue liner in Kazan’s lineup and was enjoying a very impressive rookie Super League season.

Today defensive prospect Alexei Emelin (Montreal Canadiens) was involved in a serious altercation on the ice during the second quarterfinals game between his Lada and Metallurg (Magnitogorsk). According to a reliable source within Metallurg Magnitogorsk organization, the following transpired during the game:

At 16:48 of the first period, Emelin was hit in the helmet with the puck by Metallurg’s defenseman and captain Evgeny Varlamov in what appeared to be an accident. Varlamov appeared to skate to the laying down Emelin, but the young defenseman, still extremely agitated from the incident, punched the kneeling Varlamov in the jaw, knocking out the 30 year old defenseman, who fell limp to the ice. Fortunately the defenseman did not hit his head on the ice. Varlamov lay on the ice for several minutes before being removed on a stretcher. Emelin received a match misconduct penalty for the incident. Varlamov is now in a hospital with what according to the doctors appeared to be

Alexei Mikhnov (Edmonton Oilers) carries Lokomotiv into the quarterfinals with a two goal performance. Young and cash strapped Lada overpowers the 2005 Super League champions behind the leadership and stellar play of Alexander Buturlin (Montreal Canadiens) and Vasily Koshechkin (Tampa Bay Lightning) to advance. Sergei Zinovjev (Boston Bruins) ties the game late, dashing HC MVD’s hope of prolonging the series against his Ak Bars. READ MORE

Metallurg Mg., Lokomotiv, Avangard and Ak Bars are rolling along to the quarterfinals, while CSKA and last year's champion Dynamo stumbled at the start line. Evgeny Malkin (Pittsburgh Penguins) and Alexei Morozov (NHL Free Agent) are dominating the action, while Ilya Nikulin (Atlanta Thrashers) continues to shine for Ak Bars Kazan , scoring his 10th tally of the season, which puts him third amongst the league's defensmen in goals and eighth in scoring! READ MORE

Alexander Bumagin (2006 NHL Entry Draft) continues to help the young Lada squad make the playoff push with his performance. Evgeni Malkin (Pittsburgh Penguins) continues right where he left off before the Olympics with two assists. Konstantin Glazachev (Nashville Predators) makes his return to the Super League after suffering a serious injury earlier in the season. READ MORE

Ilya Nikulin discusses his hockey career, as well as the details of his transfer from Dynamo Moscow to Ak Bars Kazan. The interview was conducted by Gennadi Ziryanov (Sport-Ataka, Novosibirsk Newspaper). READ MORE

Pittsburgh Penguins prospect Evgeny Malkin speaks to All of Hockey/Football magazine’s correspondent Evgeny Sukhoroslov regarding his success in Russia, the championship aspirations of his Super League club, and his expectations from the Olympic games in Turin, Italy. READ MORE

Konstantin Rudenko (Philadelphia Flyers) scores a couple of goals earning Lokomotiv a point in a tie with CSKA. Vasily Koshechkin (Tampa Bay Lightning) keeps Ak Bars at bay to help his club earn a point in the tie. Former Los Angeles Kings goaltending prospect Alexei Volkov earns shutout for Vityaz against Spartak. READ MORE

Stanislav Chistov (Anaheim Mighty Ducks) pulled his groin during the contest against Salavat Yulayev. He has been out of Metallurg’s lineup since then and the club’s head coach Dave King has stated that he expects Chistov back in action towards mid Ferbruary.

Alexei Mikhnov (Edmonton Oilers) leads Lokomotiv to victory with two goals. Igor Volkov (New York Islanders) carries his team Salavat Yulayev to a 4:0 victory with a hattrick, scoring his 16th, 17th and 18th goals. Ruslan Zainullin (Calgard Flames) rediscovers his scoring touch, scoring his 4th and 5th goals of the season.

Severstal (Cherpovets) management announced today that the club was no longer in need of services of former U20 squad head coach Vladimir Plyuschev, who joined the team as the head coach this past summer. The club was significantly re-organized with the arrival of a number of young players such as Igor Grigorenko (Detroit Red Wings), Alexander Polushin (Tampa Bay Lightning) and Vladislav Evseev (Boston Bruins), but the club continued to struggle in the league rankings, failing to break into the top 10. It is unclear who the club’s new head coach will be, but it may be Nikolai Solovyev, who recently resigned in St. Petersburg.

Lada (Togliatti)’s junior farm club head coach describes his experiences while coaching Lada 2 after the parent Super League club’s financial collapse and the subsequent call up of the majority of his capable young players to the Super League. READ MORE

Former U20 National Team head coach Vladimir Plyuschev discusses the performance of his Super League (Russia 1) club Severstal (Cherpovets), as well as the silver medal performance of Russia's U20 squad at the recently concluded World Junior Championships. The interview was conducted by Gazeta.ru’s Vladimir Semenov. READ MORE

Andrei Taratukhin (Calgary Flames), Ivan Tkachenko (Columbus Blue Jackets) each netted two goals, while Anton But (Tampa Bay Lightning) collected three assists in Lokomotiv’s 8:3 trouncing of SKA. Young forward Gennadi Stolyarov (Detroit Red Wings) skated in a couple of contests for struggling Dynamo, while the club also gave former Tampa Bay Lightning goaltending prospect Evgeny Konstantinov a chance between the pipes against the lowly Molot. READ MORE

Anton But (Tampa Bay Lightning) carries Lokomotiv to a tie with two goals and an assist. Andrei Posnov (New Jersey Devils) transfer to SKA pays quick dividends do his new club, as the young forward scores the game winning goal just 22 seconds into overtime. READ MORE

Vasily Koshechkin (Tampa Bay Lightning) discusses in a Soviet Sport interview the huge upswing in his career he has enjoyed since becoming Lada's starting goaltender. He also touches upon his Russian National team aspirations and Lada head coach Petr Vorobiev's defensively minded hockey system. READ MORE

Denis Grot (Vancouver Canucks) earned the first star of the game with a goal and an assist against his former club, Yaroslavl’s Lokomotiv. Konstantin Barulin (St. Louis Blues) also delivered a strong performance in that contest, stopping 22 of 24 shots he faced. A change of scenery may have just what Philadelphia Flyers prospects Alexander Drozdetsky and Konstantin Baranov needed, as the pair scored SKA St. Petersburg’s only goals in a 2:0 victory over Lada. READ MORE

Alexander Drozdetsky (Philadelphia Flyers) suffered a knee strain in the game against Lada (Togliatti) late last week and will miss at least a week. The young forward has recently switched clubs, returning home to his native St. Petersburg SKA, where he is one of the primary hopes for Nikolai Soloviev’s fast moving offensively minded scheme.

Evgeny Malkin (Pittsburgh Penguins) plays last Super League game before U20 WJC. Young 2006 NHL Entry Draft players make debuts for Lada (Togliatti) and CSKA (Moscow) in the absence of the clubs’ top young talent, who are attending the U20 World Junior Championships in Canada. READ MORE

Edmonton Oilers prospect Alexei Mikhnov reflects regarding his recent success with Lokomotiv Yaroslavl, his Russian national team aspirations, and his relationship with Lokomotiv head coach Vladimir Yurzinov in an interview with Ves Hokkei’s Yana Strauss. READ MORE

Konstantin Baranov (Philadelphia Flyers) was released by struggling Dynamo yesterday, and has already found a new club. The young forward has struggled with Dynamo, earning little ice time and unable to deliver on the scoreboard. He clear did not fit in, or understand Dynamo’s system and thus was finally released despite Krikunov’s respect for the player. Just a day after his release, Baranov was signed by SKA, a club that has been in a free fall lately, falling to as far as 12th place in the Super League rankings. SKA’s head coach Nikolai Soloviev mentioned in an interview with Sport Express that he attempted to sign the young forward while he was still the head coach of Metallurg (Novokuznetsk), but the deal fell through at that time.

Sergei Anshakov (Pittsburgh Penguins) travels continue, as the young forward was released by the Super League’s Dynamo (Moscow). The young forward spent only a month with the club, joining it during November’s transfer period. During that time he only managed to skate in one contest on the club’s fourth line. Anshakov’s future plans for the rest of the season are unclear, though he is still under contract with CSKA (Moscow), which clearly have little interest in the player.

Konstantin Glazachev (Nashville Predators) suffered an off ice injury, cutting the midsection stomach area of his body. The injury appeared to have been administered with a sharp object. The young forward underwent surgery at a local Yaroslavl hospital and the doctors claim that the surgery was successful. The doctors further added that the young forward needs 10 days bed rest before returning to any physical exercise, but that he will also make a full recovery. Glazachev currently resides at the hospital in his own room. It is unclear what was the cause of the injury, and there are currently conflicting versions circulating through the Russian media.

Well, there appears to be a silver lining in Colorado’s struggles in net, with Vitaly Kolesnik putting together two solid starts in a row for the Avalanche. The 26 year old Kazakh goaltender was signed by the NHL club as a free agent during the summer after a spectacular performance at the World Championships and the club’s investment is now returning dividends. Prior to the NHL recall, Kolesnik skated for the Avalanche AHL affiliate in Lowell, Massachusetts, where he owns a 10-8-0 record with 2.80 goals against average and a 0.916 save percentage.

Evgeny Malkin (Pittsburgh Penguins) enjoys a three point game, leading Metallurg to victory. Igor Volkov (New York Islanders) net 11th and 12th for Ufa to tie Neftkhimik. Alexander Semin (Washington Capitals) continues to struggle for Khimik in the club’s rare win against Dynamo (Moscow) READ MORE

Dmitri Kazionov (Tampa Bay Lightning) pays Dynamo instant dividends in a losing effort. Artem Chubarov (Vancouver Canucks) scores his measly fifth of the season, but second in his last two games. Lada returns back on the horse after previous tour’s trouncing with 3:2 overtime come from behind victory over Spartak, with Alexander Buturlin (Montreal Canadiens) netting the two regulation tallies for the club. READ MORE

Evgeny Malkin (Pittsburgh Penguins) enjoys a four point game scoring two and adding two assists for Metallurg. Dynamo continues to struggle to win thanks to Igor Grigorenko’s (Detroit Red Wings) equalizer with just over 5 minutes left in the contest. Kazan’s top line consisting of Alexei Morozov (NHL R. Free Agent), Zinovjev (Boston Bruins) and Danis Zaripov remains hot, combining for five of Kazan’s 8 goals in the rout of Sibir. READ MORE

The Chicago Blackhawks announced today that the club has come to terms with restricted free agent Mikhail Yakubov, who has spent the season thus far skating in Russia for Moscow RSL club Spartak. Thus far, the young forward has 12 points (5 goals and 7 assists) in 29 games, ranking fourth on the squad in overall scoring, goals and assists. Yakubov has already left Russia and is expected to join Chicago’s lineup some time next week.

TSN.ca reported that the Pittsburgh Penguins are about to place Konstantin Koltsov on waivers in order to assign him to the NHL clubs AHL affiliate. Koltsov was widely expected to follow up his successful 2003-04 campaign on the same line with Mario Lemiux, but has struggled thus far this season, recording only a single assist in the first 20 games of the season. Touted as the fastest skater of the 1999 NHL Entry Draft, Koltsov has already skated for the Belarus Olympic team and has one NHL season under his belt.

Ivan Nepriayev (Washington Capitals) saves Lokomotiv with last second goal. Enver Lisin (Phoenix Coyotes) carries Ak Bars (Kazan) to victory with two goals. Denis Istomin (Chicago Blackhawks) gets back on track with two goals in just as many games.
READ MORE

Vasily Koshechkin (Tampa Bay Lightning) records another shutout and leads the weakened Lada to victory. Konstantin Barulin (St.Louis Blues) starts for the first time after the return of Tyler Moss from injury, and earns the top star of the game honors. READ MORE

Yuri Trubachev (Calgary Flames) shares his NHL aspirations and his opinions regarding the Super League and his club, Severstal (Cherpovets). The young forward also talks about his rise to the Super League stardom. READ MORE

Maxim Semenov (Toronto Maple Leafs) became the latest player to leave the sinking ship that is Lada (Togliatti), signing a deal with Khimik (Mytische) for the remainder of the 2005-06 season. The young Kazakh native has been a mainstay on Lada’s defense over the course of the past two and a half seasons since suddenly coming onto the scene prior to the 2003-04 season.

RussianProspects.com learned today that defenseman Anton Kadeykin (New Jersey Devils) has been loaned by RSL’s Lokomotiv (Yaroslavl) to High League (Russia 2) club Dizel (Penza). The young defenseman has thus far been playing for Lokomotiv’s farm club Lokomotiv 2, but has constantly accompanied the main squad on most road games, especially in the past month. He has fully recovered from shoulder surgery and the High League assignment sends him on a similar path to that of Vancouver Canucks second round choice in the 2002 NHL Entry Draft, Denis Grot. That young prospect spent a season in the High League before finally becoming a regular in the Super League.

Mikhail Lyubushin (Los Angeles Kings) signed a new deal with RSL’s Avangard (Omsk) for the remainder of the 2005-06 season. The 22 year old defenseman was recently put on waivers by Severstal (Cherpovets) after an unspectacular beginning of the season. Initially, he was expected to sign with HC MVD to play for his former head coach Kotov, but the young defenseman must have gotten a better offer from Avangard, which has had some troubles to constantly field 6 capable blueliners.

Alexander Mikhaylishin (New Jersey Devils) suffered a concussion this weekend during a friendly game between RSL clubs Spartak (Moscow) and Severstal (Cherpovets). The young defenseman got hit in the face by the puck, suffering the concussion. He will be sidelined for at least two weeks due to the injury.

Mikhail Lyubushin (Los Angeles Kings) was waived today by Severstal (Cherpovets) and is looking for a new club. The young defenseman’s removal is part of the club’s efforts to revamp the blue line, which has been woeful during the first third of the regular season and has been a large reason of the club’s recent struggles. Rumor has it that Lyubushin will likely end up in Tver, skating for HC MVD, which is helmed by Sergei Kotov, his former head coach while the young defenseman skated for the Soviet Wings. Reportedly, Kotov attempted to sign Lyubushin during the off-season as soon as he became MVD’s head coach. Unfortunately for Kotov, Lyubushin already signed a deal with Severstal.

Severstal’s management announced today that Sergei Anshakov (Pittsburgh Penguins) will not be joining the squad for the rest of the season due to the high demands CSKA (Moscow), the club that holds the rights to the young winger. Anshakov was in Cherpovets on a tryout basis, but despite showing promise, his stay was cut short by this development. It is unclear at this point where the young forward will continue his career.

Former New Jersey Devils second round choice and current Florida Panthers prospect Viktor Uchevatov will return to Russia for the remainder of the 2005-06 season. The move took place in the young forward’s attempt to get more ice time, as he has been a healthy scratch for more games than he played for the AHL’s Rochester Americans. The young defenseman has signed a tryout contract with RSL’s Severstal (Cherpovets), which is currently headed up by the former Russian junior national team head coach Vladimir Plyuschev. The contract does not mean that Uchevatov will remain with the club for the rest of the season, as it may release his rights in the coming week to allow him to search for another place of employment. Uvchevatov was drafted by New Jersey out of Yaroslavl’s Lokomotiv and has spent the past 5 seasons in North America with the Albany River Rats and then the San Antonio Rampage. He was one of two Florida Panthers defensive prospects on the Rochester Americans roster this season. The Florida Panthers acquired Uchevatov as part of the deal that sent NHL veteran center Viktor Kozlov to the Devils prior to last year’s playoff run. The club retains the rights to the young defenseman for at least another season, making him eligible to return to Florida’s 2006 training camp.

Alexander Kozhevnikov (Chicago Blackhawks) has been transferred to Neftkhimik for the remainder of the season. The young forward currently has an active contract with Moscow area Vityaz, but has hardy received any ice time this season. It is not clear whether the young forward was let go by Vityaz, or just loaned by the club to Neftkhimik. In either case, the move is a welcome one for Kozhevnikov, since Neftkhimik is known for achieving maximum results with a small budget, making the playoffs in two of the last four years without any stars or high profile players. The club has struggled this season and the Chicago Blackhawks 2002 third round pick should receive a fair chance to compete for ice time.

Sergei Anshakov (Pittsburgh Penguins) resurfaces in Severstal after his departure from Ufa earlier this season. Will the young forward finally find his home under the coaching of Vladimir Plyuschev, or is this just another stopover? RussianProspects.com writer Eugene Belashchenko weighs in on the young forward's future. READ MORE

Vasily Koshechkin (Tampa Bay Lightning) earns what may be his last shutout of the season in Lada's last game before the break up. Nikita Nikitin (St. Louis Blues) continues to make the most of his ice time, using his slap shot. Dmitry Bykov (Detroit Red Wings) returns
from injury. READ MORE

Alexander Semin (Washington Capitals) has been transferred to Khimik (Vosskresensk) along with experienced winger Alexander Buturlin (Montreal Canadians). Still, the question remains whether the young forward will heed the US District Court ruling regarding his ineligibility to play for a club other than the Washington Capitals or the NHL club’s affiliate. We will not find out for at least another week, as the Super League is stopping play during the Karjala Cup EuroTour International Tournament. Unfortunately, due to the military obligations, it appears that the young forward will remain in Russian and hence play for Khimik, but a glimmer of hope for a compromise still exists.

Dmitri Kazionov (Tampa Bay Lightning) has signed a new deal with his former hockey school, Dynamo (Moscow). The young forward started his career with the club, but then moved on to CSKA before finally settling down with Lada a couple of seasons back. Initially the marriage between Kazionov and Lada was not a resounding success, as Russia’s most talented ’84 born center spent most of the year on the club’s second team and reportedly almost left Russia for the Canadian junior leagues. However, the young player decided to stay and the following season earned a spot in Lada’s lineup. A defensively reliable playmaker was one of the victims of Lada’s financial vows that caused the departure of almost half the team to various Russian Super League clubs.

US District Court ruled today against Mark Gandler and Alexander Semin (Washington Capitals), specifying that the young forward is not allowed to play for another professional hockey team. The Capitals say it's a step in the right direction, but what does it all really mean? READ MORE

Alexei Mikhnov (Edmonton Oilers) continues to rack up the goals with his eighth of the season. Vasily Koshechkin (Tampa Bay Lightning) records yet another shutout. Ilya Krikunov (Vancouver Canucks) of the old is back this season with his seventh goal. READ MORE

After an erratic season's start, Anton Khudobin (Minnesota Wild) coming around for the Saskatoon Blades. The young goaltender has put together a solid string of 4 games in the latter half of the October, including a shutout and a 0:1 loss where he stopped 40 of 41 faced shots. With the exception of the latest game when he was replaced by Kevin Armstrong towards the end of the first period after allowing two goals, Khudobin has been reliable in net lately for the Blades. This is welcome news, considering that the Minnesota Wild prospect is the starting goaltender for Russia's U20 squad and that an adjustment to the North American style is essential if he has NHL aspirations.

Igor Knyazev (Phoenix Coyotes) paid instant dividends for Khimik by scoring the lone goal in Khimik’s victory. At the same time, Vasily Koshechkin (Tampa Bay Lightning performed admirably in the loss. Konstantin Barulin (St. Louis Blues) also impressed in his victory against stronger Ak Bars (Kazan). READ MORE

RussianProspects.com has learned that Albert Vyshnyakov (Tampa Bay Lightning) suffered an off ice injury that will keep him out of the lineup for approximately two weeks. The young forward was involved in a car accident and suffered a bruised knee, as well as a cut to the face. The injuries are not believed to be serious and the Tampa Bay Lightning prospect will continue recovering over the Karjala Cup Super League season break before he returns to action.

Alexander Semin (Washington Capitals) delivers a two goal performance,
helping Vasily Koshechkin (Tampa Bay Lightning) earn his third
shutout of the season in 5 starts. Ilya Zubov delivers an inspired
performance with two assists, earning third star honors. READ MORE

RussianProspects.com has learned that Alexander Bumagin (2006 NHL Entry Draft) may be out the rest of the season. The young forward suffered a concussion and a neck strain during a game several weeks ago and initially was believed to be out for at least two months. That prognosis has changed from bad to worse, as he now appears to be lost for the rest of the season. It is quite a shame, especially when considering that the 18 year old forward lead his club in scoring prior to the injury and was often Lada’s best player on the ice.

Evgeni Malkin (Pittsburgh) leads Metallurg to a late come back
over the Champions. Konstantin Barulin (St. Louis) continues
to shine for Spartak. Injury free Sergei Mozyakin (Columbus) returns
to the top of Super League scoring after an almost two season absence. READ MORE

After being sent down to the AHL in the last days of training camp, Igor Knyazev (Phoenix Coyotes) chose to return to Russia instead of skating in the AHL. In Russia,, he returned to his 2004-05 RSL club, Khimik Vosskresensk. He already played in his first game for the club, skating on the club’s top defensive pairing with veteran defenseman Semin. The Phoenix Coyotes retained Knyazev’s rights, but is unclear whether the club has any future plans for the blue liner, and whether the blue liner intends to return to North America for another try at the NHL.

Konstantin Zakharov (St. Louis Blues) has been sent down to ECHL’s Alaska Aces by St. Louis Blues AHL affiliate, the Peoria Rivermen. The young forward is in his second professional season after spending a season in the OHL with the London Knights and then signing a deal with the St. Louis Blues and recording 14 points (4g+10a) in 59 games for the Worcester Ice Cats during the 2004-05 season. Zakharov skated for a long time on the same line with Montreal’s first round pick Andrei Kostitsyn on the Belarus junior national squads, including this year’s U20 WJC team. Interestingly, his father has been his long time coach on the national team and at home in Belarus.

Vladimir Gorbunov (New York Islanders) stands out and earns second
star honors. Konstantin Barulin (St. Louis Blues) is back on
top of his game in the tie against Neftkhimik. Ruslan Zainullin (Calgary
Flames) continues to recover from injury, adds a second tally of the
season. READ MORE

Denis Kulyash (Nashville Predators) suffered a shoulder injury during Dynamo’s game against Novokuznetsk’s Metallurg. This is defenseman’s second shoulder injury of the season and it has now caused enough concern to question his candidacy for Russia’s Olympic national, something that according to the Olympic squad’s and Dynamo’s head coach Vladimir Krikunov was very possible. The head coach had the following to say in an interview with Sport Express newspaper correspondent Pavevl Stryzhevsky:

Anton Belov (2006 NHL Entry Draft) underwent surgery to repair his wrist that was injured late last season. As was the case with Boston Bruins Sergei Samsonov, Belov’s bone was not set properly after the break and grew together incorrectly. The fused bone needed to be re-broken and then set properly. Belov will be out for at least another 4 weeks before he can begin practicing again. The young forward was consistently in CSKA’s lineup prior to the injury.

Vasily Koshechkin (Tampa Bay) notched his second shutout in as many games, stopping all 26 shots. Albert Vyshnyakov (Tampa Bay) scored his club leading seventh goal of the season. Alexander Polushin (Tampa Bay) notched two goals to lead Severstal to victory over CSKA. READ MORE

A wrist injury suffered during the game against Sibir in late September has sidelined Kiril Lyamin (Ottawa Senators). The talented defenseman has already missed two weeks of action and it is unclear how long until he returns to action. We are following up regarding the exact nature of the wrist injury. Prior to being sidelined, Lyamin enjoyed his return back to the Super League ranks after his season long absence.

All the young forward apparently needed was a little bit of rest. Yesterday, after getting a game off, Ilya Zubov (Ottawa Senators) scored his first Super League goal, tying the game up for Spartak (Moscow). The young forward crossed the blue line, wound up and released a mean slap shot that reached it’s destination in the back of the net right underneath the crossbar. Zubov started the game on Spartak’s fourth line with Ponomarev and Pavlov, but worked hard, scoring a goal and drawing two penalties, eventually working his way back to his usual third line. He was recognized as Spartak’s player of the game.

It appears that Vasily Koshechkin (Tampa Bay) will be Lada’s starting goaltender, and not only because of the club’s financial dire straits. The young goalie delivered second strong performance in a row, backstopping Lada against HC MVD, at the same time earning his first career RSL shutout. Likely one of the tallest goaltender in the world, Koshechkin is surprisingly agile for being 6’6, though the five-hole remains his weakest spot.

According to a reliable source, RSL club Lada (Togliatti)’s budget will be cut by approximately 50% in the coming month during the November transfer period. This means that the club’s top paid players will likely be released or loaned to other RSL clubs. Alexander Semin (Washington Capitals), is currently the club’s top paid player after the departure of all other NHL players. He will likely be one of the first victims of the budget crisis.

Alexander Semin may return to Washington after all. Today, Lada (Togliatti) has fired it’s new general manager, Sergei Mikhalev, reportedly due to severe financial strain. In an interview with Soviet Sport newspaper correspondent Pavel Lysenkov, Sergei Mikhalev had the following to say about the club’s future: "It is likely that the club’s budget will be severely cut, and this will, of course, be reflected on the club’s roster". He then further added that "the club cut the hockey school’s coaching staff in half. I don’t believe these will be the only changes in the organization".

Thus, it appears that Lada’s highest paid player, Alexander Semin, will likely be among the first cut players. His availability to play in the NHL is unclear, as he was initially reported on Washington’s roster, but then did not attend camp. He has an existing contract with Washington, hence should be able to return to the NHL, despite the start of the regular season. One of the main hurdles that is blocking his return is the fact that the club suspended him due to breach of contract when Semin refused to report to AHL’s Portland. It remains to be seen if the club will be willing to take the forward back if he becomes available, or if the young talented forward will instead be traded to one of the league’s wealthier, oil sponsored clubs like Avangard or Ak Bars.

Goalie Vasily Koshechkin (Tampa Bay) and Alexander
Semin (Washington) lead Lada in victory over the Champs. Dmitri
Semin (St. Louis Blues) enjoys a three point game for Spartak, while teammate
Konstantin Barulin (St. Louis) allows only one goal.
Shkotov (St.Louis) and Krikunov (Vancouver
Canucks) skate on Khimik’s top line in absence of Atlanta bound Ilya
Kovalchuk. READ MORE

Lada (Togliatti) forward Alexander Bumagin (2006 NHL Entry Draft) scored his club’s leading fifth goal last night against Dynamo (Moscow). Unfortunately, in the second period, the young forward suffered a serious injury while into the boards head first. He reportedly suffered a concussion, and initial reports indicated he may have injured his neck, but those reports have not been confirmed by Lada’s medical staff. The young forward has remained in a hospital for further recovery and observation.

After new goaltender’s David Svoboda’s recent struggles, Vasily Koshechkin (Tampa Bay Lightning) got the nod to start for Lada and did not disappoint, leading his club to a 3:2 victory over 2005 Champs Dynamo (Moscow). The young goalie turned aside 21 of the 23 shots he faced. Lada’s goaltending situation has been in disarray since last season’s starter Jussi Markkannen resigned with the Edmonton Oilers. Unwilling to rely on Koshechkin for several seasons now, Vorobiev signed former Toronto Maple Leafs prospect Vladimir Kulikov, but when given the chance, the young goaltender was unable to prove himself as a capable backup in the Super League. Koshechkin filled in on occasion for struggling Czech starter Svoboda, and may have finally wrestled away the starting job, if only temporarily until the club finds a more capable foreign import to replace him.

"He did not play well against Omsk. Even prior to that game I noticed that Zubov is not physically ready, but the player approached me himself, asking me to let him out on the ice. The only thing is, you can’t cheat nature. We will give him a bit of time to recover."

After working hard to get back in shape since deciding to remain in Russia instead of returning to Washington, Alexander Semin (Washington) finally showed the hockey that made him one of the Super League’s top snipers during the 2004-05 season. The young forward notched his third and fourth goals of the season, leading his struggling Lada (Togliatti) to a rare victory over the 2005 Super League champions Dynamo (Moscow).

Konstantin Barulin (St.Louis Blues) continued his all star caliber Super League debut by notching a 5:1 win against Khimik. Barulin played very well, with his club being outshot by Khimik 21 to 24. Since replacing Tyler Moss as Spartak’s starting goaltender, Barulin has consistently remained among Super League’s top five goaltenders, compiling a 4-5-1 record with an impressive 0.934 save percentage and 1.6 GAA. With such an effort, it is highly unlikely that Moss will regain his starting job while the young St. Louis Blues prospect remains hot.

Alexander Korolyuk (San Jose) continued to be the most valuable forward in the Super League, adding a goal and an assist. Konstantin Churilov (2006 NHL Entry Draft) scored his first Super League goal! Igor Grigorenko (Detroit) earned top star honors for Severstal, scoring game winning overtime goal. READ MORE

Igor Grigorenko (Detroit Red Wings) is back! The young forward, now with Severstal (Cherpovets), dominates the game as he did a couple of seasons back prior to his horrendous injury. He is fast, aggressive and doesn’t hesitate to drive through opponents towards the net. Grigorenko’s return to form can largely be credited to his former junior team coaches, Rafael Ishmatov and Vladimir Plyuschev. Both coaches trusted the young forward during his time on the U18 and U20 squads, and the two once again believed in his ability despite the adversity. As the head coach of Salavat Yulayev (Ufa), Ishmatov gave Grigorenko the opportunity to regain his scoring touch last season when Lada all but gave up on the young forward. This season, now the head coach of Severstal (Cherpovets), Vladimir Plyuschev outbid Ishmatov for Grigorenko’s services, staking his prestige on the young forward’s ability. Thus far Plyuschev’s prestige is in good shape, as the Detroit Red Wings prospect is enjoying a spectacular season. He has meshed quite well with Calgary Flames prospect Yuri Trubachev on the club’s top line and will likely represent Russia at each EuroTour tournament, if not the World Championships. The young forward’s NHL dream now appears to be within months, not years.

Alexei Shkotov (St. Louis Blues) today made his return back to Khimik’s (Voskresensk) lineup, skating on the club’s third line. Shkotov’s injury was not as severe as initially diagnosed, and he returned to the ice two weeks early. In the game, he tied the game up for Khimik with just under two minutes left in regulation, clearing the path for an eventual overtime goal by Denis Ezhov (Buffalo Sabres).

Konstantin Barulin (St.Louis Blues) earned second star honors and a shutout in the match against Vityaz (Podolsk). Albert Vyshnyakov (Tampa Bay Lightning) scored his fourth goal of the season, continuing to build what is likely to become his breakout season. Igor Ignatuchkin (Washington Capitals) made his Super League debut today! READ MORE

A Ves Hokkei/Football (All of Hockey and Football) interview with Ottawa Senators prospect Ilya Zubov, Russia's top 1987 born forwards. The young forward made his Super League debut this summer with Spartak (Moscow) after leaving High League's Traktor (Chelyabinsk). During the interview he shares his impressions of the Super League, as well as his new club. READ MORE

Sergei Zinovjev (Boston) netted his third hattrick of the season! Andrei Zubarev (Atlanta) scores first Super League goal! Konstantin Barulin (St.Louis Blues) started fifth straight game for Spartak (Moscow), delivering another solid outing. Sergei Mozyakin (Columbus Blue Jackets) adds two more points with a goal and an assist. (Box Scores and Lineups) READ MORE

Ivan Nepriayev (Washington Capitals) returned on Tuesday from a groin injury, skating in his first regular season game after missing the first 8 games of the season. Last season the young forward became one of Lokomotiv's most dangerous forwards. He suffered injury during the Ceska Poistovna EuroTour international tournament in early September.

Evgeny Malkin (Pittsburgh Penguins) scored another goal for Metallurg (Magnitogorsk), leading his club to victory. At the same time, St. Louis goaltending prospect Konstantin Barulin continued to do an admirable job filling in for injured Tyler Moss, earning the third star honors in Spartak's loss. Please click on header to view the Tour's Box Scores and Lineups. (Box Scores and Lineups) READ MORE

Washington Capitals forward Alexander Ovechkin shares his impressions of playing in the NHL in a Soviet Sport newspaper interview. He discusses his life in America, his new teammates and his boss, George McPhee. READ MORE

Sergei Anshakov (Pittsburgh Penguins) was released from Ufa today. The former Los Angeles second round pick was with Salavat Yulayev on loan from another RSL club, CSKA (Moscow). It is unclear where the young forward will continue his career.

Alexei Shkotov (St.Louis Blues) is sidelined for a month after suffering a broken hip in the Tuesday’s game against HC MVD. While the injury is serious, the break in the hip as not as serious as it could have potentially be and will require only approximately five weeks to heal. This is an unfortunate turn of events, as Shkotov had an opportunity to be at the Blues camp, but decided to instead stay in Russia for the 2005-06 season.

Pavel Datsyuk resigned today with the Detroit Red Wings. The talented center reportedly signed a two year deal worth approximately 3.8 million dollars per year. The young forward has been involved in contract negotiations with the Red Wings for a little over a month with little success. Plagued with salary cap issues, the club aimed to sign the forward for a approximately three million dollars per season, while Datsyuk was reportedly looking for an amount closer to five million dollars per season. The forward’s agent claimed to have sought a long term five year deal worth approximately five million dollars a year. The negotiations were so difficult that the 27 year old forward even signed a back up deal in Russia with RSL club Avangard (Omsk). However, instead of adding a peace of mind, the back up deal gave Datsyuk more trouble than good, as he then became enthralled in a war between Avangard and his former club Dynamo. Now Datsyuk is back in Detroit and will be looked upon as the club’s premier center.

As reported in the Russian media, Alexander Semin (Washington Capitals) will likely remain in Russia for the rest of the 2005-06 season. The young forward was reportedly on his way back to North America just a week ago, but after alleged "visa problems", he has remained in Russia and now is back in Lada's lineup. Now it appears that the visa explanation was a stalling tactic, as RussianProspects.com has learned that the young forward has also switched agents over the course of the past month. We will keep you posted on any future developments regarding Alexander’s future.

Konstantin Barulin (St.Louis Blues) started for Spartak (Moscow) today in the absence of the injured starting goaltender Tyler Moss. The young goaltender performed very well against Salavat Yulayev, which surprisingly entered the contest as RSL’s top ranked club with three wins and one ties. Barulin allowed only one goal throughout the contest, coming away with his first Super League victory.

Alexei Stonkus (New York Islanders) made his return to professional hockey in the Russian High League (Russia 2), where he has been playing for Torpedo (Nizhni Novgorod) while on loan from his RSL club Lokomotiv (Yaroslavl). The 21 year odl forward is still regaining his old form after suffering a serious life threatening neck injury two seasons ago that left him practically paralyzed. Unfortunately, Torpedo decided not to sign a contract with Stonkus after the training camp, but the young forward will likely continue his career with another High League club before looking to return to RSL some time next season.

Konstantin Baranov (Philadelphia Flyers) will have to wait even longer before competing for a roster spot with his new club, Dynamo (Moscow). The young forward suffered a foot injury that has caused swelling at times severe enough to make him unable to put on a skate. The x-rays did not show any breaks, only a severe bruise. The young forward will remain in Dynamo’s infirmary until the swelling subsides.

Igor Mirnov (Ottawa Senators) has been sidelined on Wednesday by a knee bruise incurred during the game against Khimik. It is unclear whether the injury has occurred to the same knee that was operated on four seasons ago. For the young forward the 2004-05 season was the first without any knee injuries, and now it unfortunately appears that the streak may be over. Fortunately, the injury does not appear to be very serious, but sideline the forward in the near future.

CSKA’s Nikolai Lemtyugov (St.Louis Blues) nailed Spartak’s goalie Tyler Moss in the collar bone with a blistering slapshot in the contest between the two teams on Wednesday. The goalie collapsed in extreme pain, but managed to complete the game before being examined by the doctor. He left the stadium with his arm in a sling. The doctors reported that it would take a month for the goalie’s broken collar bone to fully heal. Lemtyugov did a bit of service for a fellow Blues prospect Konstantin Barulin. Moss’s absence from Spartak’s net means that Konstantin Barulin (St.Louis Blues) and Andrei Medvedev (Calgary Flames) will compete for the temporary starting job. Barulin entered the regular season as Spartak’s backup and will get the first chance to start for the club.

RussianProspects.com has learned that Alexei Shkotov (St. Louis Blues) will remain with RSL’s Khimik (Vosskresensk) for the remainder of the 2005-06 season and will not attend the Blues training camp. The move came as a surprise, since the young forward has two years left on his three year deal with the Blues and was obligated by his contract to return to North America. He is bound to get a lot of ice time with Khimik, but it remains questionable whether the increased ice time will improve his chances of an NHL debut, considering his unwillingness to play in the AHL. Thus far, Shkotov has skated on Khimik’s third and fourth line, scoring a goal in his club’s last game. We will keep you posted on any future developments.

After several years of uncertainty and movement around various RSL club systems, Konstantin Volkov (Toronto Maple Leafs) is finally making an impact at Russia’s highest level of hockey. The young forward started the season on a tryout deal with Vityaz (Chekhov), but has made it into the club’s lineup, becoming a full fledged member of the team. The young forward he been consistently in the club’s lineup over the course of season’s first three games and was even voted third star of the game in a recent contest between his Vityaz and HC MVD (Tver). The situation in Chekhov is ideal for Volkov, since the pressures are relatively low, as this is the club’s first season back in the Super League after spending a number of seasons in the secondary High League (Russia 2). As a result, the young forward is getting plenty of ice time and given the opportunity to prove himself, instead of being deep in the club’s depth chart, as was the case for him with Lada (Togliatti), Dynamo (Moscow) and Metallurg (Novokuznetsk) over the course of the last three seasons.

Nikolai Zherdev (Columbus Blue Jackts) has quietly made his return to North America, in time for the NHL club’s training camp. Fortunately, the young forward has not had to contend with any contract negotiations, as he still has two years remaining on his deal with Columbus. Zherdev spent the 2004-05 season with CSKA (Moscow), but chose not to resign with the club in the summer even when the NHL lockout conclusion was not a sure thing. Instead, he spent the summer practicing in his adopted Russian hometown Elektrostal with his former High League club Kristal.

Igor Knyazev has left his RSL club Khimik (Vosskresensk) and is returning to Phoenix for the Coyotes training camp. The young defenseman and a former Carolina Hurricanes first round selection has one year remaining on his deal with the NHL club. Reportedly, the RSL club Khimik is expecting him to return to Russia instead of the AHL if he does not make the NHL club’s roster. However, such move would likely indicate a conclusion of the player’s North American career.

According to Atlanta Thrashers General Manger Don Waddel, the club is continuing the negotiations with Ilya Kovalchuk and is looking to lock down the talented young forward to a three year deal by the start of training camp. The young forward has continued to skate for RSL’s Khimik (Vosskresensk), but has acknowledged that his deal with the club is an insurance one, expecting to return to the NHL.

Pavel Datsyuk closer to rejoining the Red Wings in NHL. RussianProspects.com has learned that Dynamo has matched Avangard’s contract offer, making the young forward obligated to play for the Moscow based club if he decides to remain in Russia. As was the case with Alexander Ovechkin prior to that young forward joining the Washington Capitals, Datsyuk is not likely to rejoin Dynamo after clearly showing intent to leave the 2005 RSL Champion. Furthermore, RussianProspects.com has learned that neither Avangard’s or Dynamo’s offer sheets have been ratified by the PHL, Russia’s professional hockey governing body, which means the young forward remains free to sign a NHL deal until the start of the NHL season in early October.

Khimik Vosskresensk today released the club’s Super League regular season roster that will feature the former first overall NHL Entry Draft pick Ilya Kovalchuk (Atlanta Thrashers). The young forward’s contract with the Atlanta Thrashers has expired and he is in the midst of negotiations with the NHL club on a new deal. As acknowledged by Kovlachuk himself, the contract with Khimik contains a clause regarding the NHL and the talented forward would be free to return to the NHL in case a deal is reached with the Thrashers. Regardless of Kovalchuk’s likely departure to Russia, he has been skating on one of Khimik’s top line with one of RSL’s top scorers Alexander Prokopiev and former NHLer Valeri Zelepukin.

Pavel Datsyuk (Detroit Red Wings) today signed a one year deal with a Super League club, but surprisingly the club in question is not Moscow’s Dynamo, but actually Omsk’s Avangard. The wealthy 2004 champion has unsuccessfully competed for several other NHL caliber players earlier this summer, including Ilya Bryzgalov (Anaheim Mighty Ducks) and Alexander Frolov (Los Angeles Kings). The club’s only worth while NHL acquisition has been former Pittsburgh Penguins stand out Milan Kraft. It is unlikely that the Super League club will be able to hold a star caliber player like Datsyuk in Russia, but the move likely raises the stakes in the Detroit

The arbitration court of the Russian Super League and the Russian Hockey Federation ruled today that the RSL club Ak Bars (Kazan) can not field young defenseman Andrei Zubarev (Atlanta Thrashers) during the regular season until a compensation agreement is reached between Kazan and Zubarev’s former club in Ufa. The court did earlier rule that the young defenseman may continue his career in Kazan. The ruling further specified that Ak Bars owed Salavat Yulayev 100 thousand euros in transfer compensation, but Ufa based Salavat Yulayev did not agree to the ruling and the final transfer compensation terms are yet to be determined. Zubarev has enjoyed unexpected success during the preseason, often skating on Kazan’s top line and showing the offensive upside he has been known for before the 2004-05 season. The promising defenseman ranked second in scoring at the Romazan Cup preseason tournament, scoring three goals in as many games.

CSKA Moscow’s management announced yesterday that Sergei Anshakov (Pittsburgh Penguins) will be loaned from CSKA (Moscow) to another Super League club, Salavat Yulayev (Ufa). The young forward spent a large portion of the 2004-05 season in Ufa, enjoying great success there after a slow start in Moscow. Anshakov’s departure from CSKA likely means that the relationship between the club’s coach Bykov and the young forward has not materialized as hoped by the club’s management. Former Soviet great Vyacheslav Bykov has had issues with several young players on CSKA’s roster since inheriting the club a little over a year ago. While the Pittsburgh Penguins prospect has enjoyed a strong relationship with Ufa’s coach Rafael Ishmatov since their years together on the U20 national squad, the same could not be said for the relationship between Anshakov and Bykov.

Ilya Kovalchuk (Atlanta Thrashers) signed a one year deal with RSL’s Khimik (Vosskresensk) today, assuring a young forward financial security and a place to play in case he does not reach an agreement on a new deal with the Atlanta Thrashers. The contract’s duration is one year, and while it is not likely that the Thrashers will let Kovalchuk slip away to Russia for a season, it is likely a multi million dollar deal that sets a standard for the young forward’s NHL negotiations.

According to Metallurg (Magnitogorsk) general manager Gennadi Velichkin, Fedor Fedorov (Vancouver Canucks) will not be joining his Super League club this season and will instead make his way back across the ocean to the NHL. It is unclear at this time whether Fedorov will return to the Vancouver Canucks, or be traded to another club.

According to some reports, Pittsburgh Penguins prospect Sergei Anshakov may leave CSKA after all and may continue his career in Ufa with Salavat Yulayev. The young forward had great success with the club last season after struggling with CSKA early in the year.

Dmitri Semenov (Detroit Red Wings) joined a new Super League (Russia 1) club after being cut by Sibir (Novosibirsk). The young forward joined the less wealthy, but very successful Neftkhimik club from Nizhnekamsk. The club is well known for getting the most out of marginal, lesser known players and making the playoffs almost every season.

Forward Alexei Tereschenko (Dallas Stars) has suffered concussion during a preseason game between his Ak Bars and Moscow’s CSKA. The Dallas Stars prospect went down after a hard hit from defenseman Kiril Lyamin (Ottawa Senators) and did not return to the game. He is projected to make his way back into the lineup within two weeks. During the off-season, Tereschenko was one of a number of Dynamo (Moscow) players who left RSL 2005 Champion to join Dynamo’s former coach Zinatulla Belyaletdinov in Kazan.

It appears that one of the brightest 2003-04 NHL rookies is coming back to the NHL. The young forward was involved in a bit of controversy when he was suspended by the Washington Capitals at the beginning of the 2004-05 season for not showing up for Washington’s AHL affiliate’s training camp. Instead, he spent the 2004-05 season skating for Lada (Togliatti) in the Russian Super League, establishing himself as one of the league’s top snipers. The young forward also saw ice time on Russia’s national team. Prior to the beginning of the 2005-06 season, Semin signed a new one year contract with Lada, seemingly deciding to remain in Russia. There was also his military service to consider, as Semin was conscripted into the Russian military prior to last season. However, despite the contract and the military service, Semin is on his way back to North America and will take his place as one of the key building blocks besides other young rookies, including the 2004 NHL Entry Draft’s first overall selection Alexander Ovechkin. For Lada, Semin’s departure further opens a gaping hole, as the young forward is another of a series of players to leave the club for the NHL, including Nikolai Antropov, Danius Zubrus, Anton Volchenkov>, and Viktor Kozlov.

Today, Dmitri Semenov (Detroit Red Wings) was cut by his Super League club, Sibir (Novosibirsk). The 82 born Detroit Red Wings prospect joined Sibir after a High League stint with the High League club Krilia Sovetov in Moscow. After hardly making an impact early on, he appeared to get back on track late in the season and started to put up some offensive production. Unfortunately, the young forward was unable to withstand the high level of competition on Sibir’s revamped, stronger roster. Interestingly, the young forward is the son of a long time Russian hockey coach, Vladimir Semenov, who at one time coached Sibir (Novosibirsk), as well as Dynamo (Moscow). Semenov played for his father at both of those clubs, but now it appears the speedy forward’s prospects in the Super League have all but dried up.

The PHL arbitration court ruled today that Mikhail Grabovsky (Montreal Canadiens) will continue his career with Dynamo (Moscow). After a lengthy investigation, the court ruled that the contract the young player signed with Ak Bars (Kazan) was not legal, thus assuring that Grabovsky does not get a two year suspension for signing two separate contracts. A battle ensued over the past two months over the rights to the young forward which were contested by Dynamo and Ak Bars. Dynamo ended up having the legal right to the player, since Grabovsky’s contract with Neftkhimik included a clause that in the case Krikunov left the RSL, the young player would be able to sign with that new club, which ended up being Dynamo.

Kiril Koltsov will shortly leave Russia and return to North America for the Vancouver Canucks training camp. The young offensive defenseman returned to Russia last season and skated for his long time club Avangard (Omsk). Prior to that he signed a deal with Vancouver during the summer of 2003, and spent the 2003-04 and part of the 20004-05 season with Vancouver’s AHL affiliate, the Manitoba Moose. Interestingly, when Koltsov left North America last season, he was one of the league’s scoring leaders among defensemen. Koltsov’s future is at this point uncertain. If he does not make the Vancouver Canucks starting lineup, the young defenseman may return to Russia instead of accepting an AHL assignment, a move that would effectively end his North American career. However, Koltsov may also accept an AHL assignment if promised an imminent call up. The young defenseman’s past track record is uneven with his great performances and various gaffes that include last season’s move back to Russia and loss of eligibility during the 2001 NHL Entry Draft, and thus leaves a lot to speculation.

According to the Buffalo Sabres organization, the NHL club has reached an agreement with the IIHF and the NHL to retain the rights to prospect Artem Kryukov for another year due to the lack of a transfer agreement between the NHL and the Russian Super League, and the 2000 first round pick still being under contract with Russia’s Lokomotiv (Yaroslavl). Kryukov is entering the final year of his deal with Lokomotiv, and will be able to join the Sabres next season as a free agent. While many considered the 15th overall selection of Kryukov ill advised, the young forward impressed Sabres coaching staff and management during 2003-04 season’s training camp, and has even been invited to skate for Russia’s national team this past season. The young center possesses a powerful combination of size and skill, and has recently put two solid, injury free seasons together after struggling with various injuries throughout the early years of his career. Even more importantly, he has not suffered another concussion since the terrible pre-draft incident where he was blind sided so hard that Kryukov had seizures on the ice.

Sergei Zinovjev (Boston Bruins) will spend the 2005-06 season in Russia. Bruins assistant manager Jeff Gorton had the following to say regarding Zinovjev in an interview with the Boston Herald: ``He wants assurances that he'll be in the NHL and we're not prepared to do that. He makes a lot of money over there, and we can't match that kind of money for him to play in Providence.'' The Bruins will continue to hold Zinovjev’s rights for another year, and it remains to be seen if the young forward will test his ability in the NHL during the 2006-07 season.

The Anaheim Mighty Ducks will have to do without Stanislav Chistov for the 2005-06 campaign. The young forward has recently signed a one year deal in Russia with RSL’s Metallurg (Magnitogorsk), and has decided to compete in Russia this coming season. The change of scenery may be very good for Chistov’s development, who has in recent years struggled to meet the hefty expectations placed on his shoulders. Chistov’s departure from North America does not by any stretch mean that his NHL career is over. The young forward plans on returning to the NHL and the club’s management continues to hold him in high regard.

"I have not given up on Stanislav Chistov," said Anaheim’s general manager Brian Burke in an early June interview with the Los Angeles Times. "He had great promise when he arrived in the league. For one reason or another, it has not worked out for him until this time. We will watch him this year and watch his progress." Burke showed his faith in Chistov by stating that "a guy like that has got to play among your top six forwards. I've not given up hope that this player will help us someday."

After a month long tryout, former first round pick Nikita Alexeev (Tampa Bay Lightning) signed a one year deal with Avangard. The young forward joined the club along with Alexander Svitov (Columbus Blue Jackets) in early July , but while Svitov joined the club with a full contract, Alexeev came on tryout basis. The contract’s details are unclear in regards to his ability to return to the NHL, which remains a possibility since the Tampa Bay Lightning extended him a qualifying offer.

After a month of speculation whether he would continue his career with Lada (Togliatti) in the Russian Super League, Anton Volchenkov today signed a two year deal with the Ottawa Senators and will return to the NHL. Former Ottawa first round pick, Volchenkov spent the last season skating for Ottawa’s AHL affiliate. Earlier in July, he signed a one year deal with Lada (Togliatti), but did state that the negotiations between him and the Senators were continuing. Fortunately for the young player, it appears that the negotiations bared fruit.

CORRECTION (08/11/2005): RussianProspects.com learned that Igor is not a free agent in North America and remains the property of the Phoenix Coyotes. In addition, the back injury ocurred while he skated for the 83 national team in August and then received treatment in Carolina during the Hurricanes training camp. He will most likely continue his career in North America.

Igor Knyazev (Phoenix Coyotes) was released yesterday by Metallurg (Magnitogorsk). The reasons for the release were not clear, but he was one of four players released by the club that day. Interestingly, the former first round pick by Carolina was the only player with a full contract, which was annulled. The young defenseman has not had much success in his career since the NHL draft, with the negative events started as soon as the drafted concluded, as he injured his back during Carolina’s summer training camp, which forced the occurrence of a series of unfortunate events between the player and his Russian club Spartak (Moscow). It would be also difficult to evaluate Knyazev’s three years in the AHL good, let alone spectacular. The only bright spot is the young defenseman’s recent success in the RSL with Khimik (Vosskresensk). Knyazev skated most of the 2004-05 season with the club, and was consistently the RSL club’s top four defenseman. Now a free agent in Russia and North America, the young defenseman’s future plans are unclear.

Russian Professional Hockey League’s (PHL) arbitration court ruled yesterday that Mikhail Yunkov (Washington Capitals) will be allowed to play for his new club, Ak Bars (Kazan). The young forward’s former team, Krilia Sovetov, claimed that he still had an active contract with the club for three years, but during the arbitration hearing it was learned that after the signing of the previous deal, the High League (Russia 2) club reorganized and re-signed all of the club’s players to new contracts, which happened to be of a duration of one year. As a result, the young forward was eligible to become a free agent this year and he took an advantage of this opportunity to sign with the wealth Super League club from Kazan. Despite allowing the young forward to switch teams, the court did rule that Ak Bars would have to pay Krilia Sovetov a 100k USD transfer fee, as well as a 50k rubles (approximately 1,500USD) fine for allowing Yunkov to practice and scrimmage with the club prior to the arbitration hearing.

The arbitration court of Russia’s Professional Hockey League (PHL) has confirmed that Andrei Zubarev (Atlanta Thrashers) had the full right to sign a new deal with Ak Bars (Kazan) and leave Salavat Yulayev (Ufa). Apparently, the young forward signed his first professional contract at the age of 14, two years younger than the minimum age allowed by the PHL. Considering this development, the contract was not necessarily valid to begin with, so its expiration meant that the young defenseman was no longer Ufa’s

Konstantin Mikhailov (Vancouver Canucks) signed a tryout deal with Neftkhimik (Nizhnekamsk) and may potentially join the club for the upcoming season. Curiously, this is going to be Mikhailov’s third attempt to make the club’s roster. Mikhailov has also spent time in the RSL with Dynamo (Moscow) and Severstal (Cherpovets). The 22 year old spent the latter part of last season skating for Gomel in Belarus, after not being able to make the Severstal club.

Yesterday, the Ottawa Senators defenseman Anton Volchenkov signed a one year contract with RSL club Lada (Togliatti), which does not appear to be an insurance deal. The Ottawa Senators do still have until August 15th to resign Volchenkov. A three year NHL veteran, Volchenkov will bolster Lada's blue line, which has suffered during the off season due to the departures of Alexander Seluyanov (Detroit Red Wings), Vladimir Malenkykh (Pittsburgh Penguins), and Maxim Kondratiev (New York Rangers). Volchenkov had the following to say in an interview with Gennadi Nabatov from the Soviet Sport newspaper:
"I signed a contract with Lada for one season. Yes, the NHL lockout is over, but I still haven't gotten a respectable offer from Ottawa. Everyone's salaries were cut over there, and my three year contract has just ended. Who is going to raise my salary based on the current circumstances over there? I am quite content with Lada's terms. The club's head coach Petr Vorobiev told me that he wants to see me with his club and is really depending on my help. So, I decided to go to Togliatti."

RussianProspects.com has learned that Anton Kadeykin (New Jersey Devils), the NHL club’s top pick in the 2002 NHL Entry Draft, has left Spartak (Moscow), and is currently practicing with another RSAL club - Lokomotiv (Yaroslavl). The young defenseman was lost for most of last season due to a serious shoulder injury, but appears to have fully recovered and has been practicing with Spartak for a month before his departure. Considering Lokomotiv’s defensive losses, Kadeykin may be able to wrestle away a spot in the lineup. While still under contract with the Devils for another season, the NHL club will likely allow Kadeykin to remain in Russia if the situation is positive enough for his development.